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Salty · Jun 25, 2010, 02:56 AM

Hey all, Steve mentioned shipping millions of FaceTime devices, the question is do we think he meant iPhones and iPod Touches and iPads? I can understand them choosing not to put a camera in the iPad given that they wanted to first introduce FaceTime on the iPhone 4, not to mention they wanted to have a reason for all those early adopters to have to buy new iPads once the ones with FaceTime come out, my question though is, right now FaceTime is activated by making a phone call and then having the two devices connect that way, I'm wondering how Apple plans on enabling FaceTime for anything other than an iPhone? As it stands the service seems rather unnecessarily phone centric. Now granted video chat has mostly been limited to IM services and it has a reputation of well... penises...

Now obviously Apple is trying to avoid the penis factor by throwing video calling on your phone and likely your iPod touch, but the question is how do we think Apple is going to link all those iPod touches, iPads and maybe even Apple TVs together? They've already got all those Apple IDs ready, could we see Apple taking those several million iTunes Store customers and turning them into iChat users? iTunes and Safari already get bundled together in Software update on Windows, how long before Apple starts pushing iChat as an app for windows users? Or better yet, why not team up with Facebook? Skype?

I mean for however much Apple would love all those FaceTime users to be running Macs or iPhones or whatever, Apple also said they were going to take FaceTime to the standards bodies. The question is what kind of devices is FaceTime going to come out on? And how will they be linked.

By the way anyone else think that a camera in one's Apple TV allowing a whole family to video call from the living room might be kinda cool?

Spheric Harlot · Jun 25, 2010, 03:16 AM

Have you considered that since FaceTime is just iChat rebadged, Apple is already selling millions of FaceTime "devices" each quarter?

brassplayersrock² · Jun 25, 2010, 04:15 AM

Hopefully this means that iChat users can make “phone calls” with those with iPhones.

moonmonkey · Jun 25, 2010, 08:32 AM

I expect 10.7 to have Facetime support in ichat but before then gamecentre users will be able to chat with facetime when it launches. Front facing cameras are cheap, so the ipod touch will get one in the next update.

mdc · 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by Salty

... my question though is, right now FaceTime is activated by making a phone call and then having the two devices connect that way, I'm wondering how Apple plans on enabling FaceTime for anything other than an iPhone? As it stands the service seems rather unnecessarily phone centric.

On iPhone 4 if you open a contact and scroll to the bottom of their details there is a button for FaceTime. It'll connect you without making a phone call and according to Matt Gemmell it works in airplane mode.

I think Apple put the button for FaceTime into the phone call part since it makes it even easier to switch to it. When more of these FaceTime devices start shipping, if there isn't a FaceTime app, it'll be easy enough to open the contact and initiate FaceTime from there.

Salty · Jun 26, 2010, 01:09 PM

OK but what are they gonna use as the link? Email addy? Apple ID?

imitchellg5 · Jun 26, 2010, 06:08 PM

FaceTime is very different from iChat. FaceTime is a networking protocol, not an application.

seanc · Jun 26, 2010, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by mdc

according to Matt Gemmell it works in airplane mode.

In Steve's WWDC Keynote, he said it needed Wi-Fi, so as long as you have Wi-Fi turned on while in airplane mode, you should be good

Jun 29, 2010, 07:47 PM

Originally Posted by Salty

OK but what are they gonna use as the link? Email addy? Apple ID?

Right now, Apple runs an intermediary service so when your iPhone is available for FaceTime, it's registered with Apple's server. So when someone calls you, it goes through Apple which checks to see if you are available.

I suspect the ID that is used is probably the phone ID. I wonder if it's run through the same mechanism as push notifications?

turtle777 · Oct 20, 2010, 01:52 PM

Facetime for Mac. Announced today. Great.

Available Beta today.

But doesn't seem to integrate with iChat.

-t

Brien · Oct 20, 2010, 02:12 PM

Originally Posted by turtle777

Facetime for Mac. Announced today. Great.

Available Beta today.

But doesn't seem to integrate with iChat.

-t

Yeah. Strange, but considering they went for the zero setup route, probably easier for them.

Salty · Oct 20, 2010, 08:37 PM

I imagine that iChat is probably gonna die pretty soon and be replaced with FaceTime. Besides real IM users use Adium.

TETENAL · Oct 20, 2010, 09:03 PM

Originally Posted by Brien

Yeah. Strange, but considering they went for the zero setup route, probably easier for them.

FaceTime requires an Apple ID. I wouldn't call that "zero setup".

Brien · Oct 20, 2010, 09:47 PM

Okay, near zero setup. The way iChat handles videochat is completely different than the FaceTime app, and perhaps the designers felt they couldn't reconcile the two.

imitchellg5 · Oct 20, 2010, 10:06 PM

I like FaceTime a lot. Already used it three times today.

Laminar · Oct 20, 2010, 10:42 PM

Before clicking on this thread, I thought to myself, "I wonder how Salty is going to inject gayness into the first post." Question answered.

turtle777 · Oct 20, 2010, 10:55 PM

Originally Posted by TETENAL

FaceTime requires an Apple ID. I wouldn't call that "zero setup".

Well, duh, true zero setup doesn't work. You need some form of identifier, at least if you want to be "reachable" by someone else. You gotta hand out some form of ID/address/number.

-t

Laminar · Oct 20, 2010, 11:03 PM

Yeah, duh! Moron.

lpkmckenna · Oct 20, 2010, 11:44 PM

The FaceTime app is separate from iChat because it makes it simplier to also create a Windows app also. Apple isn't gonna port iChat to Windows just to provide FaceTime to Windows users.

The Final Dakar · Oct 21, 2010, 11:28 AM

Originally Posted by TETENAL

FaceTime requires an Apple ID. I wouldn't call that "zero setup".

Looks like they went the zero set-up route.
FaceTime for Mac opens giant Apple ID security hole

Big Mac · Oct 21, 2010, 11:36 AM

Good job, Apple.

Oct 21, 2010, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar

Looks like they went the zero set-up route.
FaceTime for Mac opens giant Apple ID security hole

Uhm... no. Leaving your Mac accessible without locking your keychain is a giant security hole. Anyone could write an app that grabs your AppleID and password from the keychain. And as long as your keychain is unlocked, you could launch said app and click "Allow" when asked if it can access your keychain. FaceTime just did the work for you.